“I menstruate a lot.” — Liz Lemon
In a not-too-terrible turn of events a la the COVID-19 pandemic, I’ve been reading a ton. I haven’t done a book post since last September, so before it becomes completely unmanageable to recount everything I’ve read to you since then, I figured it was time to give you a roundup of what I’ve been reading. Especially if you, too, are trying to lose yourself in books.
Get cozy and READ.
Sometime in the last few years I realized I was finishing books at a pace that truly alarmed me. I was always a voracious reader as a kid, and I grew up to be an editor, so the amount of reading (or lack thereof) I was doing ashamed me and frankly made me kind of sad.
Then I realized that 1) I spend most of my day reading at work (it just isn’t “fun” reading and I am usually fixing the writing), and 2) I was getting through the Outlander books, and at 1,000+ pages a pop, those aren’t exactly quick reads (though they are totally worth it).
Last year, inspired by my friend Katharine, I set a goal to read at least a book a month. A whole 12 books in a year does not sound like much. I finished at 13. I modestly bumped my goal for 2019 up to 15 this year, and in January, my friend Lindsay added me to her Google spreadsheet where a bunch of people track what they read and either recommend the book or don’t! I think of this as a book club without meetups or discussions; just a quick virtual way to get good ideas on what to read next, and I LOVE IT.
One of my deepest shames about 2017 was how much I read. Or more accurately, how much I didn’t read.
I LOVE books. I always have. I want to write one. I edit them for a living. I know reading more makes you a better writer. And there are just so many books on my to-read list.
So I set a goal for myself for 2018. I refuse to call it a resolution because those really aren’t my jam. But I decided I would aim to finish a book a month in 2018. TBH, I find that almost shameful as a literary person, to only read 12 books in a year. But what can I say? My reading time is right before bed and this bitch is tired more often than not and I tend to drift off after a few pages.
ANYWAY.
I am happy to tell you I met my goal this year. I am even happier to tell you that at some point in the spring I realized all the books I had read thus far were written by female writers and I decided I would keep the trend going for the rest of the year and read books by women writers only.
My "to read" list is looooong.
So when my good friend Jami told me about WomanCode probably about a year ago at this point, I added the title to the list but didn't download it right away. SO many good books seem to be popping up every month, and as I am not (yet) a lady of leisure, there are only so many hours in the day I can commit to diving into a book.
In fact, usually I read for about an hour before I go to sleep, and after having endometriosis surgery last year followed by needing half my thyroid removed, I didn't particularly want to read about hormones before going to bed. They were already the stuff of my nightmares.
Toward the end of last year, I started hearing more and more people talking about Tina Brown's The Vanity Fair Diaries. The reviews were all glowing, and since I studied journalism in NYC, I particularly enjoy reading about other journalists doing their thing in my college town.